English Project Green areas in

London

INTRODUCTION

London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It

has nice buildings and, specially, big and amazing green
areas with many animals and vegetables. We are
investigating these areas and the species that live in these
places. These are the most important parks in London:

The Royal Parks:

• Hyde Park
• Regent’s Park
• St James’s Park
• Green Park
• Greenwich Park
• Bushy Park
• Richmond park
• Kensington Gardens

With this project we are trying to know the most

important green areas and parks in London. We
would like to visit these areas when we go to
London, because seeing what we have researched
and studied during this course as a subject, and then
in the real world would be great!

THE ROYAL PARKS

Hyde Park

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Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, and

one of the Royal Parks of London,
famous for its Speakers' Corner. The
park is divided in two by the
Serpentine.
The Serpentine lake

Is one of London's finest historic

landscapes and it covers 142 hectares (350 acres). There is
something for everyone in Hyde Park. With over 4,000
trees, a lake, a meadow, horse rides and more it is easy to
forget you're in the middle of London.

The speaker’s corner is an area where public speaking is allowed.

A large variety of sports are played in the park including

Tennis, Netball, Athletics, Cricket, Softball, Rounders,
Football, Hockey, Australian Rules Football, Rugby, Ultimate
Frisbee and Running. The swim and the boat are practiced
on the Serpentine Lake and the horse-ridding at the Rotten
Row.

The park also have a beautiful fountain, called Diana,

Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. The fountain was built
with the best materials, talent and technology. It contains
545 pieces of Cornish granite - each shaped by the latest
computer-controlled machinery and pieced together using
traditional skills. The
Memorial also symbolises
Diana's quality and
openness. There are three

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bridges where you can cross the water and go right to the
heart of the fountain.

Hyde Park provides a unique habitat in the heart of London

for a diverse variety of species of flora and fauna. Positive
changes in management practices have gone a long way to
encourage new species into the park. The creation of the
meadow area gives a flavour of how Hyde Park once looked
and this area has become more diverse year on year since
its creation. Have a look during the summer for butterflies
feeding off the native wildflowers in the meadow.

Many different
species of ducks live in the Serpentine.

The park is open from 5am until midnight all year round.
Getting there:
Underground and bus. They don’t recommend go to Hyde
Park by car because there are limited places for park the
cars.

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Regent’s Park

The Regent's Park is the

largest grass area for sports in
Central London and offers a
wide variety of activities, as
well as an Open Air Theatre,
the London Zoo and many
cafes and restaurants.

Within its 166 hectares (410 acres)

Regent's Park is amazingly diverse in
terms of what it has to offer visitors.
One very important element of the
management of the Park is a focus on
the

conservation and
enhancement of biodiversity.

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Over the past twenty years, the management of the Park

has concentrated on meeting both the needs of the public
and those of its wildlife. The Park is particularly popular
amongst bird watchers as one of the richest sites in London.
As well as the beautiful gardens
and historic Parkland, there is a
terrific variety of wildlife, the
most visible of which is the
birdlife.
In the park, there are also many
invertebrates, mammals,
fishes, etc...

The Park has an open air theatre (end of May to early

September), bandstands (which hold a variety of lunchtime
and evening concerts), puppet shows and London Zoo.

The park is open from 5am until dusk all year round.

Getting there:
By bus and tube. If you want to get there by your
particulary car, you can, because the park has a big and
economic parking.

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St James’s Park

St James's Park is at the very heart of London and covers

23 hectares (58 acres). St James's is also home to the Mall,
the setting for many ceremonial parades and events of
national celebration.

Three royal palaces skirt St James's Park. The most ancient

palace is Westminster, now known as the Houses of
Parliament. St James's Palace with its Tudor style still holds
the title of the Court of St
James despite the fact that
the Monarch has lived in
the third palace,
Buckingham Palace since
1837.

The view of Buckingham Palace from the park

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St James's Park, the first of The Royal Parks to be opened to

the public, provides habitats for a variety of different
species. A short walk away from three palaces (St James's,
Westminster and Buckingham Palaces) and in the heart of
historical London, the Park welcomes over 5.5 million
visitors every year and is
one of the most visited Parks
in Europe. This heavy use
inevitably has an impact on
the wildlife in the area, yet it
can be surprising to some
how much can live and grow
alongside humans.

One of the key habitats in

St James's Park is the
lake. It is home to a wide
range of birdlife
(including 15 different
species of waterfowl) and
has nesting sites on Duck
Island and West Island.

The park is open from 5am to midnight all

year round.

Getting there:
You can go to St James’s Park by tube
and bus. They don’t recommend go

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by your particular car, because there are no parking

facilities there.

Green Park

Is the smallest of the eight Royal

Parks and along with St James’ it is
one of the busiest.
Covering 19 hectares (47 acres),
the Green Park is quite different
from its neighbour St James's Park.
It is more peaceful, with mature
trees and grassland. It is bordered
by Constitution Hill, Piccadilly and
Queen's Walk.

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It’s a peaceful refuge for people living, working or visiting

Central London, and is particularly popular for sunbathing
and picnics in fine weather.

Trees in Green Park are of great benefit to the surrounding

area; they provide a cooler microclimate in hot summers,
and they also improve air quality by absorbing vehicle
fumes and filtering out harmful pollutants.

A number of more unusual trees can also be found in the

Park including the unusual Black Poplar (Britain's rarest
native timber tree, recognisable by its gnarled trunk), Silver
Maples (distinguished by their finely cut silvery leaves) and
Silver Limes (which have
leaves that are a silvery white
underneath). There are also
some native oaks and
Hawthorn- a tree that
supports a lot of wildlife with
its rich blossom providing
nectar for insects in the spring
and its berries proving food
for birds in the autumn.

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During spring more than

250,000 daffodils burst into
life, making The Green Park
yellow for a few glorious
weeks.

The park is open all day all year round.

We can get there by tube and bus and, like St James’s Park,
there are no parking facilities.

These photos show the four seasons in Green Park. The first photo was taken in autumn, the second in
winter, the third in spring and the last one in summer.

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Greenwich Park

Covering 74 hectares (183 acres), Greenwich is the oldest

Royal Park and home to a small herd of Fallow and Red deer.
Situated on top of a hill, visitors enjoy sweeping views
across the River Thames to St Paul's Cathedral and beyond.
The park is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site, host
to the Prime Meridian
Line and the old Royal
Observatory, as well as
having the National
Maritime Museum as a
neighbour.

Greenwich Park is an
outstanding place to
visit. As well being of
major historic
importance and a World Heritage Site, the Park is also a
Grade listed landscape and a Site of Metropolitan
Importance for Nature Conservation - in short, a real haven
for wildlife.

Greenwich Park is divided in two by a steep-sloped

escarpment that runs from east to west. The gravel terraces
of the southern half of the Park rise to heights of up to 45m
above sea level from which you can enjoy some spectacular
views across London. This
stunning landscape is a simply
wonderful setting for watching
wildlife among the grasslands
and trees of the Park.

Greenwich Park offers a range

of sports, including cricket and
rugby. You can also bring
along your frisbee or football for some informal fun.

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The paths and grass areas are used extensively for walking,
jogging, running, cycling and also ride horses (there are
special paths for do the last two things).

The Rangers' Field at the south

end of the park close to the
Blackheath Gate has space for
two rugby pitches.

It also offers
users a changing pavilion with two team
changing rooms and showers.
In the summer, the Rangers' Field is
marked out and maintained for cricket.
Immediately to the north of Rangers'
Field is the Greenwich Park Tennis Centre
offering 6 hard courts.

The park is open from 6.00am for pedestrians (and 7.00am

for traffic) all year round. Closing times vary depending on
the season.

Getting there:

Tube, train, Dockland Light Railway, bus and river boat (you
can take riverboats to Greenwich Pier from Westminster,
Embankment or Tower Piers).

Parking facilities and disabled parking available.

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Bushy Park

With an area of 445 hectares

(1,099 acres), Bushy is the second
largest of the Royal Parks. Lying to
the north of Hampton Court
Palace, the park, has a distinctly
rural character and is home to
around 320 free-roaming deer.
The famous Arethusa 'Diana'
Fountain forms the centrepiece to
the famous Chestnut Avenue.

Arethusa Diana Fountain

There is an incredible range of

wildlife and habitats within its
walls. More than two million
visitors enjoy the Park each year.

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The Park has a distinctive landscape, shaped in part by its

history as a royal hunting ground but also by its many
ponds and streams. These are fed with water by the
Longford River created in 1637 by Charles I to bring water
to Hampton Court Palace. The Longford runs for 12 miles
from the north of Heathrow airport down through Bedfont,
Feltham, and Hampton, through the Park and on to
Hampton Court.

The long list of birds to be found in the Park includes all

three native woodpeckers, kestrel, tawny owl and a range of
waterfowl. Kingfisher can often be seen or heard along the
banks of the Longford River and the various ponds and
water bodies in the Park - their brilliant blue plumage is a
stunning sight.

You can practice different sports in Bushy Park, like cycling,

horse-riding or rugby.

The park is open 24 hours for pedestrians, except

September and November when opening time is 8am, and
closing time is 10:30pm. Vehicle access is from 6:30am to
dusk, closing at 7:00pm in winter. During the months of
September and November, the park opens at 8am.

We can get there by bus or train. There are parking

facilities.

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Richmond Park

Richmond Park, at almost 1000 hectares (2500 acres), is

the largest Royal Park in London and is home to around 650
free roaming deer. The pastoral landscape of hills,
woodlands, ponds, gardens and grasslands set amongst
ancient trees offers a peaceful respite to visitors. The Park
is designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of
Conservation (SAC).

The
Isabella Plantation is now an ornamental woodland garden, full of exotic plants, that is designed to
be interesting all year round. But its name suggests a far humbler origin.

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Richmond Park is a site of both national and international

importance for wildlife conservation. It is London's largest
Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve
and a Special Area of Conservation.

An extremely wide
range of sports are
available in the Park,
from informal
kickabouts to horse-
riding to club rugby.

The park is open from

7am in the summer and 7.30 in the winter, and closes at
dusk all year round.

We can get there by tube and bus, and there are car parks.

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Kensington Gardens

Covering 111 hectares

(275 acres), Kensington Gardens is planted with formal
avenues of magnificent trees and ornamental flower beds. It
is a perfect setting for Kensington Palace, peaceful Italian
Gardens, the Albert Memorial, Peter Pan statue and the
Serpentine Gallery.

The Kensington Palace

Italian gardens in Kensington gardens

Albert Memorial in the garden The Serpentine

Gallery Peter Pan statue

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The Gardens are particularly popular for sunbathing and

picnics in fine weather. It is also popular as a healthy
walking route to work for commuters. The paths are used
extensively by joggers and runners. Cycling is allowed on
the designated path linking
the Queen's Gate to West
Carriage Drive, Mount Gate
to the Broadwalk and the
broadwalk itself from Black
Lion Gate to Palace Gate.

Informal games do take

place in the Gardens but
are discouraged in view of
the importance of the
historic landscape and the desire to maintain their primary
role as a peaceful refuge for people living, working or
visiting Central London.

The Diana, Princess of Wales' Memorial Playground is a

fantastic adventure for kids up to the age of 12. Over
70,000 youngsters enjoy the playground each year.

Bird records for Kensington Gardens go back more than a

hundred years and
178 species have so
far been identified.
Green Woodpeckers
nest in the Gardens - a
rare occurrence in
Central London.

The park is open from 6am to dusk all year round.

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Getting there:
By tube or bus. You can get there by your particular car if
you want, there are parking facilities in the park.

Personal opinion

Our opinion about this project is very positive. It has been

very interesting, because some weeks ago, we didn’t know
that there are many green areas and big parks in London.
Specially, we are eager to visit these places in June, when
we go to London. We realized that big and important cities
like London can have big green areas in the middle. Most of
these parks have a lot of flora and fauna, and people go
there for do picnics and sunbathing, do a lot of sport or just
to relax and have some fresh air.
When we go to London, we will have lunch in the most
important Royal Park: Hyde Park. This will be on our first

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day there (June 10th) in the afternoon. If the day is sunny,

we will have a packed lunch, and after this, we will have a
gimcana party. IT WILL BE FANTASTIC!!!

Bibliography

We have researched information from different web pages

and books.
- Google (www.google.es)
- Royal Parks (www. royalparks.org.uk)
- Royal Parks (www.royalparkshalf.com)
- Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- London by John Escott (Oxford bookworms)

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